New Notices and Initiatives

New Notices and Initiatives Relevant to National Institute on Aging (NIA) for the May 2010 Council Meeting

Excerpts from the NIH GUIDE - December 5, 2009 – March 29, 2010
Includes Notices and Initiatives: Requests for Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcements (PAs), published since the January 2010 Council presentation of the Director’s Status Report (DSR) to the National Advisory Council on Aging (NACA).
Also check our NIA website for “Funding Opportunities.”

(Shown here are selected Notices and Initiatives relevant to NIA/National Institutes of Health/DHHS).

Purpose – This initiative is supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5. The NIH invites applications from research-intensive institutions to support mentored career development in support of comparative effectiveness research (CER) in an interdisciplinary environment catering to the needs of diverse populations of scholars including (but not limited to) those with backgrounds in biostatistics, epidemiology, health economics, pharmacology, medicine, and dentistry.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet) Short-term Mentored Career Development Awards in the Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences for Mid-career and Senior Investigators (K18)

Purpose – This initiative is supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5. It invites applications for short-term mentored career development (K18) awards in the basic behavioral and social sciences research (b-BSSR) from three months to one year in duration.

Purpose – This initiative, supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5, invites applications proposing clinical trials using the principles of behavioral economics to enhance the uptake of the results of comparative effectiveness research (CER) among health care providers in their practice.

Purpose – This initiative, supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5, invites applications to study how the principles of behavioral economics could be used to enhance the uptake of the results of comparative effectiveness research (CER) among health care providers in their practice.

Purpose – This initiative, supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5, will support projects that address research endeavors in specific areas that will benefit from significant three-year funds without the expectation of continued NIH funding beyond this period. The research supported by the program should have high short-term impact, and a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and development, public health, and health care delivery.

Purpose – This initiative, supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5, invites applications to conduct preliminary comparative effectiveness research (CER) projects in targeted, high-priority areas in which such efforts have been lacking. This initiative will support small, 3-year projects proposing analyses of archival or administrative datasets, pilot clinical trials, observational studies, planning of future definitive research protocols, building of research networks or registries, or demonstration projects from multidisciplinary teams with relevant expertise to conduct CER studies of upper endoscopy in GERD, MRSA eradication methods, or dementia detection and management strategies.

Purpose – This initiative, supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5, invites applications to enhance, develop, or evaluate methodologies to improve the efficiency, validity, and credibility of comparative effectiveness research (CER) studies.

Purpose – This initiative, supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act” or “ARRA”), Public Law 111-5, invites applications for the NIH Director’s ARRA Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce. The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research workforce. This new FOA introduces a new research grant program to encourage exceptionally creative individual scientists to develop highly innovative and possibly transforming approaches for promoting diversity within the biomedical research workforce.

Purpose – This initiative seeks to advance the discovery of new, efficacious therapies for the treatment, delay of progression, or prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-related cognitive decline. This FOA encourages the early stages of drug discovery necessary to identify promising disease-modifying therapies as well as treatments aimed at ameliorating the cognitive and neuropsychiatric/behavioral symptoms characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Studies aimed at the discovery and testing of therapies directed at a variety of established as well as novel therapeutic targets are encouraged.

Purpose – This initiative seeks applications to support major data collections in a wide range of areas relevant to healthy aging including the dynamics of health and disability, cognition, psychosocial and sociodemographic factors, genetics, and biomarkers, long term care, caregiving, behavioral medicine, retirement, economic status and well-being over the lifecourse. (see the Resources Section below for links to NIA sponsored data sources). This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages secondary analyses of these and other relevant data.

Purpose – The primary objectives of the SHIFT SBIR initiative are: (1) to foster research that is translational in nature and (2) to transform academic scientific discoveries into commercial products and services. Academic researchers can be a driving force for new products and services in a small business concern (SBC). A major feature of the SHIFT program includes the requirement for an investigator who is primarily employed by a United States research institution at the time of application to transition to a small business concern (SBC) and be primarily employed (more than 50% time) by the SBC by or at the time of award.

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD and Other Dual Doctoral Degree Fellows (Parent F30)

Purpose – The purpose of this announcement is to provide support to individuals for combined MD/PhD and other dual doctoral degree training (e.g. DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD). The participating Institutes award this Kirschstein-NRSA individual fellowship (F30) to qualified applicants with the potential to become productive, independent, highly trained physician-scientists and other clinician-scientists, including patient-oriented researchers in their scientific mission areas.

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (Parent F31)

Purpose – The purpose of this individual predoctoral research training fellowship is to provide support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) during the tenure of the award.

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31 - Diversity)

Purpose – The purpose of this individual predoctoral research training fellowship is to improve the diversity of the health-related research workforce by supporting the training of predoctoral students from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented. Such candidates include individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds

Purpose – The purpose of this individual postdoctoral research training fellowship is to provide support to promising Fellowship Applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators in scientific health-related research fields relevant to the missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers.

Purpose – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards individual senior level research training fellowships to experienced scientists who wish to make major changes in the direction of their research careers or who wish to broaden their scientific background by acquiring new research capabilities as independent investigators in research fields relevant to the missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers.

Purpose –The purpose of the NIH Research Conference Grant Program (R13 and U13) is to support high quality conferences/scientific meetings that are relevant to the scientific mission of the NIH and to the public health.

Purpose – The purpose of the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program is to stimulate research in educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation's research scientists, but that have not been major recipients of NIH support.

Purpose – The purpose of the Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25) is to attract to NIH-relevant research those investigators whose quantitative science and engineering research has thus far not been focused primarily on questions of health and disease.

Purpose – This initiative supports small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. Investigator-initiated research, also known as unsolicited research, is research funded as a result of an investigator submitting a research grant application to NIH in an investigator’s area of interest and competency.

Purpose – The Research Project Grant (R01) is an award made to an institution/organization to support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s).

Purpose – The purpose of the NIH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) is to provide support and “protected time” (three, four, or five years) for an intensive, supervised career development experience in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences leading to research independence.

Purpose – The purpose of the NIH Independent Scientist Award (K02) is to foster the development of outstanding scientists and enable them to expand their potential to make significant contributions to their field of research. The K02 award provides three, four, or five years of salary support and “protected time” for newly independent (see IC provisions) scientists who can demonstrate the need for a period of intensive research focus as a means of enhancing their research careers.

Purpose – The purpose of the NIH Academic Career Award (K07) is to provide support to increase the pool of individuals with academic and research expertise to become academic researchers and to enhance the educational or research capacity at the grantee sponsoring grantee institution.

Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08)

Purpose – The primary purpose of the NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Awards (K08) program is to prepare qualified individuals for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the Nation. This program represents the continuation of a long-standing NIH program that provides support and “protected time” to individuals with a clinical doctoral degree for an intensive, supervised research career development experience in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research, including translational research.

Purpose – The purpose of the NIH Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24) is to provide support to mid-career health-professional doctorates or equivalent who are typically at the Associate Professor level or the equivalent (see Section III. Eligible Individuals) for protected time to devote to patient-oriented research (POR) and to act as research mentors primarily for clinical residents, clinical fellows and/or junior clinical faculty.

Purpose – The primary purpose of the Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented NIH-supported independent investigators. The program is designed to facilitate a timely transition from a mentored postdoctoral research position to a stable independent research position with independent NIH or other independent research support at an earlier stage than is currently the norm.

F. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES – PAs/PARs/PASs (Other IC's) - those issued by Other ICs with NIA involvement.
(Announcements are sorted by release date. Most recent announcements are at the top of this list.)

Purpose – The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a framework to enhance cooperative activities among the NIH Office of the Director and 15 NIH Institutes and Centers that support research on the nervous system (for further information, see http://neuroscienceblueprint.nih.gov/). This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is released in affiliation with the Neuroscience Blueprint, with Institutes and Centers participating independently.

Purpose – The goal of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to invite Research Project Grant (R01) applications investigating the role of diet composition in energy balance, including studies in both animals and humans.

Purpose – These initiatives encourage research that aims to accomplish one or more specific goals: (1) generate new theories that would enhance the capabilities and value of Social Network Analysis (SNA); (2) address fundamental questions about social interactions and processes in social networks; (3) address fundamental questions about social networks in relation to health and health-related behaviors; (4) develop innovative methodologies and technologies to facilitate, improve, and expand the capabilities of SNA.

Purpose – These initiatives encourage research that aims to accomplish one or more specific goals: (1) generate new theories that would enhance the capabilities and value of Social Network Analysis (SNA); (2) address fundamental questions about social interactions and processes in social networks; (3) address fundamental questions about social networks in relation to health and health-related behaviors; (4) develop innovative methodologies and technologies to facilitate, improve, and expand the capabilities of SNA.

Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities

Purpose – These initiatives encourage behavioral and social science research on the causes and solutions to health and disabilities disparities in the U. S. population. Health disparities between, on the one hand, racial/ethnic populations, lower socioeconomic classes, and rural residents and, on the other hand, the overall U.S. population are major public health concerns.

Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities

Purpose – These initiatives encourage behavioral and social science research on the causes and solutions to health and disabilities disparities in the U. S. population. Health disparities between, on the one hand, racial/ethnic populations, lower socioeconomic classes, and rural residents and, on the other hand, the overall U.S. population are major public health concerns.

Purpose – The ultimate goal of these program announcements is to encourage empirical research on health literacy concepts, theory and interventions as these relate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ public health priorities that are outlined in its Healthy People initiative

Purpose – The ultimate goal of these program announcements is to encourage empirical research on health literacy concepts, theory and interventions as these relate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ public health priorities that are outlined in its Healthy People initiative

Purpose – The ultimate goal of these program announcements is to encourage empirical research on health literacy concepts, theory and interventions as these relate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ public health priorities that are outlined in its Healthy People initiative

Purpose – The goal of this initiative is to broaden the scope of investigation into scientific problems, yield fresh and possibly unexpected insights, and increase the sophistication of theoretical, methodological, and analytical approaches by integrating the analytical strengths of two or more disparate scientific disciplines while addressing gaps in terminology, approach, and methodology. It encourages Research Conference Grant (R13) applications from institutions and organizations that propose to develop interdisciplinary research teams

Clarification of NOT-OD-10-034: Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Transfer Technology Research Grants (R43/R44 and R41/R42) through the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet)

NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Transfer Technology Research Grants (R43/R44 and R41/R42) through the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet)